Musings on a Life in the Theatre, Tablet PC's, Cultural Issues, (oh, and the occasional emu sighting...)

Posts from September 2011

September 23, 2011

We're getting close to reaching our $90,000 goal at Wayside Theatre. We've got just over two weeks to go and we've just crested $80,000. Thanks to all who've joined the fight we really appreciate it. This weekend we close our wonderful production of Steel Magnolias. This show has done very, very well for us, and I have to say the ladies in this cast have been not just remarkable but amazingly so with their performances. Yesterday we received a review from a new publication, Shenandoah Press. It captures the show and everything we've been going through this summer perfectly. When can you say that about a review these days? Well, this time you can.

If you want to know what this fight is about, read this review. Certainly the fight is about quite a bit more, but this captures who we are and why we do what we do brilliantly.

September 21, 2011

As we continue our Emergency Campaign at Wayside Theatre to raise $90,000 by October 10 we've had some great help from a number of individuals. We're just under $75,000 as of yesterday so we still have a ways to go. One of the individuals who has stepped up is psyhic/medium Michael Brooker. Michael was the BBCs go to guy for all sorts of stories on psyhic phenomenon and he's now moved to this side of the pond to carry on his work.

He came to Wayside Theatre and liked what we do here and has agreed to help out Wayside Theatre's Emergency Campaign by peforming a Gallery Reading on October 1 at 8pm as a benefit performance. If you've ever see John Edwards do his thing on TV then you have the idea, but Michael is much more specific, and also much more entertaining when he performs his readings. We're grateful for Michael's support and hope lots of folks attend. Tickets are $25 and you can make reservations by calling the Box Office at 540 869-1776.

This night comes one week before we open a spooky event of our own, the spine-tingling ghost story, The Woman in Black. It's guaranteed to send a shiver or three up your spine and we hope you're planning on coming to see The Woman in Black. We just hope you don't run into her in person. You'll have to see the play to see what that's all about. We started rehearsals yesterday and already spooky things are happening and we're hearing a few things go bump in the night.

Since the days of Lee Atwater when attack politics made the phrase "blood sport" seem like a polite way of doing things we've lost all semblance of the masquerade that always was politics. Do we dislike intellectual honesty so much?

Why should we assume that anyone running for political office these days is actually intelligent enough or emotionally stable enough to do the job, given that we've now created a system that rewards character assassination, lack of integrity, and a celebration of the ignorant?

So, given that un-employing people is good for profits and thus for shareholders, why are we pretending like we want to create more jobs?

Following the line of reasoning that we shouldn't have a government social safety net but should instead rely on our neighbors or churches, why aren't folks who espouse that viewpoint asked how much they tithe or donate to charity?

Poor Mitt Romney is taking heat for saying corporations are people. The Supreme Court already said that when it came to political donations. So, if corporations and people are equal why can't individuals (not those who are smart enough to incorporate) take advantage of the tax laws to evade paying taxes legally in the same way corporations do?

Take to the streets? Ha. There was a protest on Wall St against greed supposedly. Why did it happen on a weekend when most don't work on Wall St?

If businesses can make money on selling fictitious products, why should companies invest in making anything real?

If ignorance is bliss, given the state of what seems like our collective intellectual capacity, shouldn't we all be pretty damned happy?

September 14, 2011

Thanks to many of you who have been following Wayside Theatre's Emergency Campaign we've received over $67,000 to help keep Wayside Theatre operating. That's a tremendous response in only two weeks, and again, thank you to all who have donated so far. Your generosity and caring have increased our sense of urgency to complete this campaign and reach the goal of $90,000 by October 10. We're not there yet, and we have a ways to go so as much as you can do to help us spread the word will really help.

If you haven't yet made a donation we encourage you to please do so. Again, we're asking for a $50 donation from each of our supporters to help us solve this immediate cash crisis. You can donate by calling the box office at 540 869-1776 or visit our webpage at www.waysidetheatre.org and use the Donate button which sends us the donation via PayPal. Of course you can always mail us a check at PO Box 260 Middletown, VA 22645. Your support is important to us, not only for whatever amount you may choose to donate, but also as a way of gauging how our audiences and neighbors view the value Wayside Theatre brings to the community.

We've been asked quite a few times about what happens if we meet or don't meet our goals. Certainly if we don't meet our goals, (we feel confident with your support we will), we have to look at closing the doors. We're working hard to make this campaign a successful first step in the next page of Wayside Theatre's history. By reaching this goal, it will give our Board of Directors the opportunity to continue efforts to re-work our business plan and emerge with what we believe will be a more stable Wayside Theatre in the future.

We're also asked if we are completing the season. The answer is that we're moving forward on all of our plans until such time as circumstances dictate different. For example, we're scheduled to start rehearsals on The Woman in Black next week, and we're already busy on pre-production plans for Glory Bea! A Shenandoah Christmas Story, the world premiere by Richard Follett and Larry Dahlke that we're offering to our region as this year's Christmas present. And our current production of Steel Magnolias will continue to delight audiences until its scheudled close on September 24.

With your help, our plans will continue moving forward. We didn't think we'd reach 2/3rds of our goal in two weeks. Those of you who have answered the call so far have made that possible and we are extremely grateful. Again, if you haven't yet donated, please consider doing so at your earliest convenience, Who knows, with your support we could end this campaign as soon as the end of next week.

That doesn't mean the hard work will be over, but at least we'll be able to keep fighting by doing the good thigns we do at Wayside Theatre.

September 06, 2011

Wow. Talk about some terrific early results. As of the end of yesterday we were $44,600 towards our goal of raising $90,000 in 45 days for Wayside Theatre. We've actually crested the half way point as of today, but don't have an official count yet. All of that support came in during the first 11 days. We're amazed. We're pleased. We're humbled. And, most importantly we're very grateful. That least "we" is turning into a very big "we," as a number of individuals and organizations are taking ownership in this campaign and we'll be announcing some news on some of that shortly.

It's also a large "we" because so many foks really want to see us succeed. Or perhaps a better way to put is our one donor stated it, "if Wayside Theatre goes under, our community will lose a piece of its character and its soul." Obviously I couldn't agree more.

Again, we're very grateful for all of the support in this early going. To say it is overwhelming would be mild. In fact, we're so moved by the efforts so many have made that it is increasing our urgency to make sure we finish this campaign off and do so ahead of time. We're certainly not out of the woods yet, and we've got a long way to go. We know the pace will slack off a bit, and we encourage those of you who haven't gotten around to your donation yet, to go ahead and please do so. We also encourage those who have donated to help us keep getting the word out there.

September 03, 2011

There are lots of clichés out there that spouses use for each other, "the better half" being one I use frequently to describe my lovely wife, Thomasin. But then I happen to believe that most phrases that become clichés do so because there is truth there. Today my wife and I celebrate our 11th Wedding Anniversary. Well, celebrating is probably not accurate. We're both swamped with work as we're working hard to raise funds to keep Wayside Theatre, which is our life, open.

We might get a few moments to acknowledge the arrival and the passage of the day somewhere along the line, but then on the other hand why should today be any different than any other day in this wacky life in the theatre that we live every day.

But back to that "better half" thing. There's real truth there. She's the one who keeps me going and by extension that allows us both to keep on target to keep the theatre operating. Lord knows I wish I had her energy and determination. Everyone here feeds off of that energy, especially me.

So, sweetheart, Happy Anniversary. It isn't as hot as it was 11 years ago on that day we got hitched. But every minute since has certainly been as much fun, if not entertaining.